Jacquelyn Perkins

I try to get nurses to advance their level because case management should be an advanced level of nursing. I encourage them to recognize their value and pursue executive roles in healthcare so that they're the ones developing and becoming the administrators of organizations. I don't want a computer or an actuary or a doctor making rules for a role that nurses have to perform. As nursing increases education levels, we need to be part of the administrative piece that we were not part of years ago when other people told us what to do. As I educate them on what they do, I encourage them to increase their knowledge and education in healthcare so that they're the ones making the rules and policy and procedure for their own professional role. Take that clinical knowledge that you have and put it into this role, and then you can take care of that patient from a higher level. I'm trying to make sure we maintain that human aspect of what we do because we're losing that humanistic aspect of nursing. We're performing a job and tapping keys and looking at computer systems, but are we doing the hand-holding, the back rubbing, the sitting with patients when they were afraid? We need to think about how we make it more human.

As we go into AI and as we stay at home and work, I see the detriment that it can cause because now our patients, we're taking care of patients that we never see. I'm trying to make it where we maintain that human aspect of what we do. We're losing that humanistic aspect of nursing because we're performing a job and we're tapping keys and looking at computer systems, but does the patient see us like patients usually see us? What happened to the hand-holding, the back rubbing, the sitting with them when they were afraid? We used to perform what was called HS Care where about 8 o'clock at night, we gave everybody a glass of milk, some graham crackers or a cup of tea, we straightened their sheets, we walked them to the bathroom, we put them in bed, we rubbed their backs, tucked them in. I don't think anybody's doing that now. As we move more and more into technology and as we are not teaching our children critical thinking, these kids are not learning critical thinking in school. Technology is thinking for them, they're not thinking for themselves. We're losing our ability as a culture to maintain human connection, and that's what we're losing in healthcare too.

Before I retire, I want to give something back. That's my focus. I teach my children and grandkids that when you wake up every day, say something you're grateful for. What are you grateful for? Like the birds chirping, you can see what you're doing, you got a job, you had an education. It's about understanding the world we live in and how can we make it better. I try to maintain human connection in everything I do. I never go to the ATM, I go into the bank and talk to the people at the bank. When I go to the grocery store, I don't need you to bring my groceries, I can go get them so I can talk to people at the grocery store. I don't use Amazon anymore. I'll go on Amazon to see who made something, go to their website and order it from the company, or I'll get in my car and drive to JCPenney or somewhere and buy what I want so I can see the people and talk to the people in the stores. I don't use the self-checkout where you do them yourself, I go to the girl in line so I can talk to her. I don't want to lose that human connection, and we're losing it as a culture. As long as I'm giving back to that generation that's coming, that's important to me.